A Million and One
by KimberlyJean
Summary: “I’ve got a million and one reasons why this won’t work out,a million and one things we’ll end up fighting about...but in spite of it all, I think I'm still in love with you." Seventh Year Marauders- light and in character. L/J,SB/OC
1. Bad History

**A/N: Welcome! Before I begin, a few small side notes.**** I'll be trying to keep this simple and light, and almost entirely cannon. The exception to that rule will be my few O/C's, but I do hope you'll grow to like them, as they tend to be quite nice girls. I've enjoyed writing it, so I hope that you will enjoy reading it. I do sort of throw you right into the story. ****I let it write itself. There will be plenty of Lily/James fluff to be had, along with SB/OC. Anyway, I'll leave it at that, because I don't think anybody **_**really**_** reads A/N's anyway. Hah. Review? =]**

**Disclaimer: Why, no, I don't believe I'm a fabulously wealthy genius. Actually, I don't even seem to be British… What a shame.**

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"_I've got a million and one reasons why this won't work out_

_A million and one things we'll end up fighting about._

_Like, you've got baggage enough to fill a small ship_

_Like, your past is your present and I don't think you'll get over it._

_But in spite of it all, I think I'm still in love with you._

_In spite of it all, I sleep to dream of you."_

_-Lesley Pike_

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**A Million and One**

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Reason One: We have bad history, and so do our friends.

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Finding a compartment on the train is impossible. A pale girl with long, wavy, chocolate brown hair trudges along, dragging a cherry wood trunk, and peeking into each window looking for space. She sighs, and the exhale of breath causes her long bangs to flutter out of her face for a moment. Undaunted, they flop back over her honey eyes, obscuring her vision. Sighing again, she releases her trunk once more, using her freed hand to swipe them off to the side. Picking up her trunk, she moves along. Suddenly, the brass door of the compartment she's about to pass slides open with a snap. Startled, she emits a small shriek, and jumps back.

"Scared, were you, Levesque?" chortles a dark haired boy.

"Screw off, Sirius." she snarled.

"Oh, c'mon Kim." The boy said, his grey eyes softening. "I didn't mean anything by it."

The girl rolled her eyes. "What do you want anyway? I assume you weren't standing by the window just waiting to scare the shit out of me." she said. "Not that I would put it past you…" she muttered as an afterthought.

"Mouthy, Levesque. Actually, I was here to let you know all the compartments are full. You and Tiger-Lily will have to sit here. " This seemed to greatly amuse Sirius. His dark eyes twinkled as a slightly crooked and extremely charming smile stretched across his face.

Kim groaned. Lily would not be pleased.

"Harker's already here." Sirius added as an afterthought. Kim's face immediately brightened at the mention of her friend, and she took a step forward. However, Sirius appeared to have other ideas. He too stepped forward, blocking her path. Startled once again, Kim found she was extremely close to the muscular boy. Being fairly tall, her eyes leveled with his chin. She looked up at his face, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she hissed.

Grinning, he ran his hand down her back. Reaching her waist, he yanked her up against him. Her breath hitched as she pressed against him, his hand warm on her lower back.

"The way I see it, Kitten, I'm giving you a hand here." He purred. "You have nowhere else to sit, and I'm offering you and your little friends a place. I wouldn't mind a little something in return." His breath washed across her face. His eyes softened once again, and the suave smile dropped off his face. "That," he stated, gently running a thumb along the side of her face, "and I've missed you terribly." His voice was sincere, and somehow sad, as he looked into her eyes, his hand cupping the side of her face gently.

Kim closed her eyes, breathing in. She let her head lean against his large hand. She couldn't deny that she had missed this, being wrapped up in his arms, his charming asides, and even that stupid pet name. She sighed, resolute. Her eyes opened slowly, and they quickly found his searching ones.

"I'm sorry Sirius. I can't do this again." She choked out. His eyes made it all the harder, just as they always had.

She wriggled out of his grasp and stepped back, retrieving her trunk. Meanwhile, he straightened. Never too disheartened, he gave a small smile.

"I'm stubborn." He stated simply. Kim didn't miss the implication.

She groaned once more, and pushed past him into the compartment.

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Lily Evans was livid. It would figure, she noted, that something like this would happen to her. She stormed down the corridor, violent auburn locks streaming behind her. She was beside herself.

"Lily! C'mon, Lily, this isn't my fault! Please, Evans, talk to me!"

He was bloody begging her to speak with him. _Begging_. James Potter was sodding begging her to speak to him. She sighed in frustration, and abruptly turned on her heel. Her features softened momentarily, as she took note of how completely distraught he looked. Mentally slapping herself, she re-arranged her features.

"We don't have anything to talk about, Potter" she hissed.

"Lily, you have to understand, I didn't ask for this. I didn't want–"

Lily let out a small, strangled scream, cutting him off. "I recognize that Potter, and that is exactly the problem. I have worked for this- _worked so hard for this_, and Dumbledore goes ahead and _hands _you all that I worked for on a silver platter. And you never even _do anything_! Arghh! You can't even keep yourself out of trouble for Merlin's sake! "

"C'mon Lil, give me a chance. I can't do that badly. Dumbledore must have put me here for some reason or another." A charming grin spread across his face.

"Potter, if you were wise, you would let it drop." Lily hissed, plowing on down the hall. Peering into a compartment, she groaned. Looking up to the heavens, she whispered a plaintive "Why me?" Sighing, she turned into the compartment, resigning herself to a long and tiresome train ride to Hogwarts.

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"What? I can't believe he did that!" Charlotte Harker looked outraged. She tossed a pale braid over her shoulder in irritation.

Kimberly Levesque, sandwiched between her two best friends, sighed and nodded. "Oh, he most certainly did. Wrapped me right up in his big strong arms, whispered that he missed me, called me Kitten, and then, tightly nailing the lid on my coffin, turned those devastating eyes on me." She looked morosely down at her golden plate, swirling mashed potatoes about. "I'm doomed, you realize. Don't you?" she implored, her head propped up on her hand. Lily quickly glanced at Charlotte, grimacing.

"I don't want to play this game with him anymore." Kim went on. "I'm so very sick of all of this. I just want it to be simple."

"Kim, you have to stay away from him" Lily said firmly. "He is absolutely no good for you. Look! Even now, he's got you all screwed up. You swore never to have anything to do with him again."

"I know Lily, I know." Kim groaned. "But I just can't! He's got me so fully in love with him I can barely stand it. There has to be a way to work this out."

"Honey, maybe you're just not meant for each other." Charlotte said softly, rubbing circles on Kim's back.

"No." Kim said stubbornly. "I can't even begin to describe it to you Charley. I know I'm supposed to be with him. We're just doing something wrong."

"Maybe," Lily began tentatively, "you need to talk about it with him."

"Aw Lil!" Kim cried. "You know how I hate '_talking about it_'!"

"Well Kim, I don't know what to tell you." Lily said, exasperated. "We've had this conversation a million times. You have seriously bad communication skills. Either you love Sirius or you don't. If you love him, talk to him, and sort it out. If you don't, then stay away from him, because I don't know what else to tell you."

"Grump-y." Kim murmured under her breath. "What's got your knickers in a twist?"

"What do you think?"

"Ah, our dear Head Boy." Kim smirked. Lily threw her a look of pure acid, while Kim stretched over her plate to glance down Gryffindor table. Her eyes found James Potter with one arm slug around his best mate's shoulders. Sirius sat slumped in his seat, a small frown on his face as James whispered something in his ear. Out of nowhere, Sirius let out a bark of laughter at something James said. Grinning, James clapped his now smiling best mate on the back, and turned back to his plate.

Kim settled back into her seat. "I don't know Lily; I think Potter will do just fine."

Lily stared at her. "You're not serious."

"No Sirius is the man I'm in love with."

"Charlotte, why does she still think that that's funny?"

"She's never been quite right in the head." Charlotte murmured. "For example, falling in love with Sirius Black to begin with was probably not the brightest move ever made…"

"Oh har har." Kim said. "Anyway, Lily, you have to admit, James Potter has some serious leadership qualities. Just try and keep your man on a tight leash, will you?"

"One for her side." Charlotte murmured.

Lily looked offended. "Whose side are you on anyway?" she asked Charlotte.

Charlotte grinned. "I frequently change sides. Shake it up a bit, you know?"

"Neither of you are any help at all." The tiny redhead griped. "Kim has mood swings devastating enough to take out a small army, and Charley is so sarcastic it makes my teeth ache."

"Oh, quit the woe is me act, Lily." Charlotte said. "We get enough of that from Kim, never mind you doing it too."

"I don't think you're funny." Kim announced in a lofty tone of voice, flicking long dark curls over her shoulder.

"Her highness has spoken." Charlotte pronounced, her pale grey eyes dancing merrily.

Lily snorted into her pudding.

Choosing to ignore them, Kim peered down the table again.

"Get your eyes off him, Levesque." Lily commanded.

"Aw, but Lily…" Kim whined, her honey eyes wide and pleading.

"No, Kim."

A slow smirk spread across Kim's face. "But he's so sexy." She murmured.

"I think she has a multiple personality disorder." Charlotte stated. "Or perhaps she's Bi-Polar. She goes from forlorn to teasing to whining to seductive at an alarming rate."

"I still don't think that you're funny."

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"She was magnificent, Padfoot. You'd have to have seen her." James explained excitedly. "She was absolutely hacked off, and her eyes were so green you wouldn't even believe it."

"Mmm." Sirius agreed, lounging on his four poster. "Tell me Prongs 'ol pal, how a girl being hacked off at you a good thing?"

James smirked. "Lily is extremely sexy when she's irritated. That magnificent hair of hers flies all over the place and she flushes something adorable. And, well, you know how small she is. She draws herself up to her full height and clenched her fists and stamps her feet. I've never seen a more appealing hacked off individual."

Sirius laughed. "Whatever you say mate."

"So," James began, taking a seat on his own bed. "What happened with Levesque today?"

Sirius glanced at him, startled. "Uh… nothing. Why would you ask that?"

Remus snorted, even as he rummaged through his trunk. He looked up at Sirius. "When it comes to that girl mate, you read like a book."

"Kimberly." Sirius corrected, wincing. "Not '_that girl'_."

A smile spread across Remus' face, realizing the significance behind the correction, even if Sirius didn't. "Right. Well, when it comes_ Kimberly_, you read like a book. Plus, James knows you better than that. And," Remus added, "She looked all upset at the feast."

Sirius snorted. "Kim would have looked all upset at the feast if the potatoes weren't seasoned correctly. She's excessively dramatic."

James laughed loudly. "Her tendency towards drama doesn't seem to turn you off her any."

"I find it rather endearing." Sirius murmured.

"Be that as it may, I don't think that Lily and Charlotte would have been quite so comforting about the potatoes." Remus stated. "Nor would they have been whispering about it for the entirety of the feast. And I would guess it wasn't the potatoes that caused Kim to go out of her way to stare at you."

"You're a very useful fellow, Moony." Sirius said. "I'm rather glad we keep you around."

Remus grinned, and, retrieving his toothbrush from his trunk, entered the bathroom just as Peter left it.

Peter plopped down on his bed. "James," he asked, "Can I borrow that Quidditch catalogue of yours? Anna's birthday is coming up, and I wanted to order her a new pair of Keeper's gloves. "

"Sure Pete." James said, fishing it out of his trunk. "However, if your girlfriend were on any other team than Hufflepuff's, I'd have to say no on moral grounds. But since we'll be thrashing Hufflepuff no matter what, I suppose it doesn't make much difference."

Peter laughed. "Thanks Prongs." He said simply, as James tossed him the catalogue.

Remus exited the bathroom, and settled onto his bed. Once Sirius had closed the door to the loo, he looked over at James.

"He's quite taken with her, isn't he?" Remus said; a sly grin on his face.

James was grinning. "Why you know Remus, I do believe he is."

"Did you take note of his little correction on her name?"

"Yes." James said, looking puzzled. "But why? I wouldn't have anyone calling Lily 'that girl' either."

"I know, but you and Sirius are two rather different people. We all know you're desperately in love with Lily, but the correction from Sirius means something slightly different. The correction is his subconscious way of proving that she's important to him."

"But we already knew that."

"Yes," Remus said, "But I like a little confirmation now and then."

James chuckled. "Moony, you are entirely too clever for your own good."

Remus laughed. "What do you plan to do about Lily this year?" he asked.

James sighed. "I don't know Remus. I just lose my head around her, you know? And I'm crazy about her. Absolutely nutters. I think that I'm just going to try and be good enough to deserve her. I'll be a good Head Boy, and a good friend." James said sincerely. Then he chuckled. "And I fully intend to thoroughly avoid pissing her off, no matter how charming it may make her look."

"You know James," Remus said, "I think that's a marvelous idea."

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**A/N: If you were cool, you'd ****review****. It's what all the cool kids are doing. (I'm going for peer pressure. Is it working?) Flames are silly- I wouldn't bother, if I were you. Constructive criticism, however, I will accept with good grace. Not only will I accept it, I'd absolutely LOVE to hear it. =]**

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**PS: Sigh. It looked better in word. Any suggestions for formatting?  
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	2. Your Stupid Best Mate

**Another thanks to all who reviewed. You make me happy. =]**

**Disclaimer: I wish. **

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Reason Two: Your stupid best mate is destroying my best mate's heart.

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Sighing, Lily plopped herself down at Gryffindor table. She detested mornings. She was never hungry enough to eat, for one thing. And Kim was always so bleeding happy that it made Lily's own irritability even harder to cope with. As Lily pulled the coffee towards herself, she caught sight of the tall, dark haired girl blissfully drenching a huge waffle in syrup. Lily scowled. No one had the right to be that happy at eight o'clock in the morning.

"I just love breakfast." Kim chirped, dumping a dollop of cream onto her obscene waffle. "Pass the strawberries, will you Lily dear?"

Murder was looking more and more acceptable in Lily's eyes.

Charlotte caught sight of Lily's expression. "Drink your coffee, Lil. You'll need it once the boys get here."

Lily groaned loudly, pushing thick auburn hair out of her eyes. Maybe she should just go back to bed.

The boys entered with their usual bravado about ten minutes later. James was laughing raucously at something Peter had said. Peter was grinning sheepishly, while Sirius and Remus were chuckling. Lily barely spared them a glance before turning moodily back to her coffee.

When she looked up again, the Marauders had settled in around them. Lily caught Charlotte's eyes when she noticed that Sirius had taken up his old seat, across from James and next to Kim. To Kim's credit, she didn't look up from her waffle.

"Gef eur handf obf ob muh washte, Sheweus; uim afetming twho enhoy muh warfle." Kim said, not bothering to swallow.

Sirius grinned slyly. "You oughtn't speak with your mouth full, Kitten. It's not polite. And no one can understand what you're saying, anyway."

Kim finally looked up to glare at him, and then swallowed pointedly. "I told you to get your hand off of my waist. I am attempting to enjoy my waffle. Now get off."

Sirius shrugged, keeping his arm firmly around her. "I don't see how my arm is making it any harder for you to eat your breakfast, love. It's really not in the way of your mouth. Although," he began, a cheeky grin spreading across his face, "I _can_ think of a certain activity that would indeed occupy both of our mouths."

Kim's eyes darkened, but her irritation did not seem to affect her enough to diminish the appeal of his offer. She bit her lip, and that seemed to distract Sirius for a moment.

James sighed, leaning over a bit to whisper into Lily's ear. "He's never been very bright, has he?"

Lily snorted. "He's your best mate, isn't he?"

A grin spread across James' face. "He's not bright, but he is fun. And you know, he's very loyal. He has his redeeming qualities. Intelligence simply isn't one of them."

Lily grinned a bit, aimlessly stirring her coffee. James' attention was reclaimed by Sirius and Kim, and Lily looked back at the pair as well.

"Don't be metal, Black." Kim was saying forcefully, glaring up at her would-be lover.

"You make me mental." Sirius said, his heart in his eyes.

"Charming." Kim said sardonically, pointedly glaring in the opposite direction.

"That's not what I meant!" Sirius cried, scrambling to redeem himself. "What I meant, was… you drive me crazy! Like, um… I can only think of you. And, you know, my wits are a giant bloody disaster when I'm around you."

Kim turned back, her eyebrows raised.

Sirius groaned. "I'm in love with you, Kitten. You're smart and exciting, and sexy as hell, and—"

"I don't doubt you, Sirius." Kim said softly, her eyes gentle. "And I love you, more than anything. But that's not the issue."

"Well, if we love each other like this, we should be able to fix whatever the problem is." Sirius stated stubbornly. "We ought to just talk about things, and—"

"No" Kim said harshly, cutting him off. "I hate talking about things."

At that moment, the bell rang for class, and Kim deftly wriggled out of Sirius' grasp, hitched her book bag over her shoulder, and strode towards the doors. Lily and Charlotte sprang up and caught up to her, standing on either side of her and draping their free arms over her shoulders.

"Well," began James brightly once they were out of earshot, "At least she loves you."

Sirius threw him a helpless look, and they all gathered their things and followed the girls to Charms.

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For the life of her, Lily could not understand why all professors had some profound and clearly misplaced love for seating charts. She found it even harder to understand why the words 'Head Boy' and 'Head Girl' automatically translated into 'seating partners' in the mind of every teacher she had throughout her first day of classes. Slughorn has been the fourth teacher- the bloody fourth! - to utter the words: "And of course our new Head students will sit together. Lily, James, right here, if you please."

So there Lily stood, across from James over a cauldron full of a bubbly purple potion they had been working on, watching helplessly as Kim and Sirius floundered around their own cauldron and each other, with the awkwardness of their breakfast conversation still lingering over them.

James followed her gaze over to them. "What a mess, huh?"

Lily looked up at him, startled. She hadn't realized he had been watching her. She cleared her throat quickly. "Yea, uh… they remind me of a small train wreck at the moment."

James smiled softly. "I would love to know why teachers love assigned seating so much right now."

Lily blinked. Hadn't she just been thinking the same thing?

"I mean, don't get me wrong, I love sitting with you." James said quickly, misinterpreting her expression. "But right now, I'm a little concerned about my mate, and he's been sat with Levesque twice today. He could probably really use a little support right now."

Lily smiled. "I know _exactly_ what you mean. Kim's going to be a mess by the end of the day."

James nodded his sympathy. A few silent seconds went by.

"I think we add the lacewing's now." James said. "What do you think Lily?"

She peered over the top of the cauldron, where their bright purple potion had faded into a deep maroon. "Why, Potter, I do believe you're correct," she said, a teasing note of surprise in her voice. "I could probably just take a nap and let you finish up here."

"Now Evans, you needn't feel insignificant." James said haughtily, a wide grin on his face. "Just because you've had the good luck of being paired off with James Potter, the master of all things academic, and most things otherwise, doesn't mean your opinion doesn't have some small value."

A tinkling laugh escaped Lily's small, pouty lips. "Sure Potter, whatever you say."

Slughorn called for their potions then, so Lily poured some into a bottle and brought it to his desk. When she returned, James had cleared up.

"Hey Lily." He began, "Why won't Kim talk things through with Sirius?"

Lily stiffened, and glared at him. "It's absolutely none of your business, Potter." She scolded, managing to make her entire tiny body look offended. "I know he's your best mate and all, but it's between them."

"I just—"

"Sod your excuses, James; I don't want to hear them."

The bell rang, and Lily stalked away from James, meeting her two friends at the door. He sighed. It seemed the newfound pleasantness between them had already reached its limit for the day.

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Dusk found Lily, Kim, and Charlotte settling in for the night in Gryffindor Tower. Their dorm was cozy and small, with plush scarlet comforters and the flickering glow of candles creating a pleasant atmosphere.

"Lily, I don't _want to_, okay?" Kim was half in tears as she gathered her things for a shower.

"You sound absolutely childish." Lily scolded. "There are some things you have to do, whether you want to or not."

"Give it a rest Lily; she's had a long day." Charlotte murmured.

Before Lily could protest, Kim had disappeared into the bathroom. The sound of running water soon followed the slamming of the door.

Lily let out an exasperated sigh and fell against her pillows. "What is her problem?" she groaned.

"She doesn't like to talk about things." Charlotte said in a matter-of-fact tone, a small smile dancing about her lips.

"I gathered that much, thanks."

Charlotte smirked. "I'm sure if we wait long enough sexual tension and primordial instinct will take over and they'll just jump each other in some broom closet or another."

"Thanks for that mental image Charley." Lily said, her voice laced heavily with sarcasm.

"What? Any idiot can see they can't keep their hands off of each other. Did you see them in McGonagall's class?" She chortled. "It was priceless. Kim accidently sat down to close to Sirius, and her thigh brushed against his. I've never seen that boy jump so high."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I wish she'd just suck it up and talk to him. They could be so _happy_."

"It's her life."

"It would be one short uncomfortable conversation in exchange for a serious happiness." Lily insisted. "When love is right there in front of you, you're supposed to reach out and grab it."

"That's rather hypocritical," Charlotte admonished, "Coming from miss 'I will not date James Potter, even though he's my soul mate, just because he was a prick when he was fifteen'."

"James Potter is _not_ my soul mate." Lily said, looking highly offended.

"I think he is." Charlotte insisted. "And I get O's in Divination, so clearly he must be."

"You get O's in Divination because you cheat off that Trelawney girl."

"No, my Inner Eye is 20/20." Charlotte insisted. "I'm clearly a Divination protégé."

"The Professor has a crush on you."

"You're just jealous because he kicked you out after the third lesson because you were absolute rubbish at it."

"I am _not_ jealous over Divination, of all things." Lily scoffed.

"Whatever. You and Potter are still destined for each other."

" Charlotte, will you _not_?" Lily groaned, flushing.

"I saw you flirting with our Head Boy in Potions." Charlotte was grinning again.

"I was not flirting with him!"

"Why Potter," Charlotte mimicked in an annoyingly high- pitched voice, "I do believe you're correct! Why, I'll just take a nap now, and let you finish up here."

"Friendly banter." Lily insisted, red- faced.

"Uh- huh. Since when are you and Potter friends?"

"He's Head Boy. I have to work with him."

"You don't_ have_ to flirt with him." Charlotte pointed out.

"It wasn't flirting!" Lily cried.

"I don't believe you." Charlotte stated.

"Drop it Charley." Lily commanded.

"Don't tell me what to do." Charlotte said, smiling.

"I'm Head Girl; I can if I want to."

"Lily," Charlotte said, "I barely listen to McGonagall- why would I listen to you?"

"Your morals are sadly misguided." Lily reprimanded.

Charlotte threw her a disdainful look, and crawled into her bed without another word.

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**A/N: That's all for chapter two, folks! The next chapter is pure L/J- it's already written, so I'll throw it up here once I get the chance to type it up. Reviews will make me type it faster. =]**

**P.S. You may have noticed that my Pen Name is KimberlyJean- just to clear it up, no, Kim is not stylized after me. In fact, my name isn't Kimberly either. I just borrowed her for my Pen Name. Sharing is caring, after all. =]**


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